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"Uhn..."

Asuna responded with a shy whisper, muffled even further by her hand as she tried to hide half of her redly blushing face.

But in the absolutely silent room, even though Yuuji’s senses were limited in this digital game world, he could still hear it clearly.

His face bloomed into a wide smile. His eyes sparkling with happiness and love.

’He’s so cute...!’

Yuuji had always been handsome, suave, and dashing. He had always been composed and collected, exuding an elegance and dignified excellence with every action he made.

A dreamlike, ideal prince charming.

This was the first time she had ever seen his honest, childlike, and genuine expression of happiness. And Asuna felt her heart tightened.

"Uwah!"

Snapped out of her daze, Asuna suddenly felt warmth now enveloping her and a pair of strong arms wrapped around her tightly.

"I’m so happy, Asuna."

It was barely a word. Barely a nod. But upon hearing her response, Yuuji moved before he could even think, pulling her into his embrace.

"Mm... Me too..."

Asuna tightened her hold on Yuuji’s clothes, her face pressed against his chest.

And slowly, moved purely by desire and love, Asuna’s arms wrapped around his chest and pulled him into her embrace.

"I... I like you too, Yuuji..."

Her feelings overflowed like a broken damn. There were plenty of things she wanted to tell him to describe even a sliver of what she felt in her heart.

Even squeezing the word "like" took everything in her. But then she realized...

It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t even close to enough.

She didn’t simply "like" Yuuji. Her feelings for him far surpassed mere fondness.

Asuna steeled her heart once again. And her arms unconsciously tightened even more around him, her nails digging into his back.

And with an even lower voice, she spoke her feelings into his chest.

"I love you too..."

Asuna could hear his heart beating faster and faster. And a brief musing crossed her mind of how incredibly sophisticated the technology behind the game was to even replicate a player’s beating heart beat in this gaming world.

But her musings were instantly cut off when she felt him kiss the top of her head.

"I love you, Asuna..."

A wave of warmth and happiness washed over her as he spoke those loving words once again.

She nodded slightly in his chest, and took a deep lungful of air and his comforting scent.

"I love you too... Yuuji."

The words now came out more naturally.

Having spoken the feelings that had been growing relentlessly in her heart into words, she felt the weight in her heart finally lifted, and a great sense of relief washed over her.

With this, there was nothing that could stop her anymore from expressing her feelings for him.

She felt a hand on her cheeks, and let it guide her to look up towards him.

Their eyes met, and everything was laid bare.

Bashfulness. Nervousness. Happiness. Excitement. Love.

Asuna closed her eyes before she knew it. Her heart and desire now directed her actions.

And soon, she felt warm lips pressed against hers.

"Mmnhh~"

A muffled moan escaped her as she felt his embrace tightened.

Only then did she realize what had happened.

"Uuuhh..."

When their lips separated, Asuna immediately hid and buried her face in his chest.

"Hahaha, why are you hiding?"

"I-Idiot! Shut up!"

Why was he acting so calmly?! Why was she the only one this nervous?!

Asuna felt vexed by Yuuji’s composure that lent him enough leeway to joke in this situation.

But then, she heard the beating of his heart and realized.

She was just as nervous as her.

"Alright alright... It’s been a long day. Go change and shower first. I’ll wait."

"Uhn..."

She nodded obediently, and immediately scurried to the bathroom, escaping her embarrassment.

Her bath took much longer tonight. Most of it was spent reliving what had happened just a few minutes ago.

Yuuji had to pretend he didn’t hear her giggles when Asuna returned, freshly showered, and still red from either the bath or her feelings.

"I’m done... You can go now."

Asuna dove into her bed and pulled her blanket over her, fully enveloping herself like a dumping, without even waiting for Yuuji’s response.

So of course, Yuuji smiled, a flash of inspiration crossing his mind, and went ahead for his shower.

A few minutes later.

Asuna hard the sound of the door opening and closing, and footsteps coming towards her.

Her bed was the one nearer to the window wall and balcony on the far side of the room, while Yuuji was the one nearer to the door. But since they were on the same side, his approaching footsteps didn’t ring any bell in her.

That was... Until her blanket was lifted up and Yuuji swiftly snuck into it with her and laid down by her side.

"W-What are you doing here?! Why are you laying on my bed, you p-pervert!"

"Hahaha, calm down! I won’t be doing anything! Well... At least not yet."

He grinned, and Asuna immediately tried pushing him off her bed, her face already blushing redly in embarrassment.

But with her strength score much lower than Yuuji’s due to the nature of her build, Yuuji easily overpowered her and held her hands in his.

"Ugh...! W-Why are you here then! Don’t you have your own bed!"

"Why? Of course to spend more time with my new lovely girlfriend~"

"Y-You-!"

Asuna felt her heart beat rapidly. After all, this was the first time in her life experiencing romance.

Yuuji was the first ever man she had fallen in love with. Her first ever boyfriend.

No matter how much she loved him, her maiden heart simply wasn’t ready to suddenly share a bed with him!

But his words made her pause...

Just like he said, she too wanted to spend more time with him.

Their previous embrace and kiss wasn’t enough. She still wanted to be in his presence and indulge in his warm embrace.

So against her embarrassment, she relented. But not with a final act of paper defiance.

"F-Fine... But if you do anything, y-you’ll be sleeping in the living room for a month!"

Yuuji smiled and pulled her into his embrace.

"Of course. I won’t do anything you don’t want."

"Mm..."

Having returned to his embrace, Asuna quickly melted to his warmth. She didn’t notice the underlying meaning behind Yuuji’s words.

She held onto Yuuji’s shirt, her clutch tight and firm, as if preventing him from escaping.

Basked in moonlight, the two laid in comfortable silence. Side by side. Within each other’s embrace.

Yuuji could feel the slight movement of her body in his embrace as she breathed, and the occasional movement of her head as she nuzzled cutely against his chest.

She seemed tiny... A far cry compared to her valiant and courageous figure in battles.

Such a small figure held within her a tremendous strength and conviction. One of the few reasons he had come to fall in love with her.

He closed his eyes and enjoyed her presence thoroughly. He would have to return to reality in a few minutes to spend time with Alice, Aria, Est, Ophis, and Semiramis, even if it was only for a brief moment before they going to sleep together.

But now, he intended to fully immerse himself in her presence and her warmth.

"..."

"..."

A few minutes of silence passed.

A few moments later, he felt her move, rustling under their shared blanket.

Then, he felt a stare.

"???"

Yuuji opened his, and saw Asuna quickly diving back into the blanket, hiding in his chest.

A teasing smile appeared on his lips.

"Hm? I thought I felt a stare... Is it just my imagination?"

"..."

Asuna flinched, a wordless confession to his question.

Yuuji wanted to tease her more, but he knew that if he were to go too far, he would find himself on the other end of her rapier, so he relented.

"What’s wrong, Asuna?"

"..."

Asuna slowly came out of her hiding and looked up to him.

Their gaze met. Then, she averted them again.

"I just... I still can’t believe what happened today..."

Asuna caught herself adrift in her slumber. She was just about to fully fall asleep, before a thought crossed her mind.

Was Yuuji’s confession a dream? Was she actually dreaming right now? And just as she was about to fall asleep, was she actually about to wake up and found herself nodding off in the Labyrinth?

Fear gripped her heart and she jolted herself awake. A chill travelled down her spine. She felt her heart drop as the terrifying thought crossed her mind.

But thankfully, she found herself still in Yuuji’s embrace.

The realization instantly released all the tension and fear in her heart.

And just to make sure it was truly Yuuji, she looked up to see him. Etching his visage in her mind.

"Me too... But it’s real. And I’m so... so happy."

"Mm."

Yuuji pulled her closer into his embrace, and Asuna settled in comfortably.

But sleep didn’t come as easily as before. Not anymore.

The fear that gripped her heart momentarily still prevented her from truly falling asleep. She still needed to consciously feel Yuuji’s presence until she felt truly assured.

"Hey, Yuuji..."

"Hm?"

Yuuji hummed, his face still slightly pressed against the top of her head after placing a gentle kiss there.

"You said... There are things you still wanted to tell me."

"...I do."

Asuna moved her head up to look at him. Her eyes met with Yuuji, and to her relief, she didn’t see any reticence or reluctance there.

"Can you tell me? I mean... I can’t fall asleep right now, so we got time."

Yuuji smiled with both helplessness and fondness in equal parts, and nodded.

"Sure. But it’ll be a long, long story. And it’d most likely sound unbelievable, even absurd. But I promise, everything I say will be the truth."

Asuna didn’t expect such a disclaimer for the truth he was going to tell her.

She began to think of the most absurd things Yuuji could possibly tell her.

That he was actually an extremely rich heir. That he was actually involved in the making of Sword Art Online. That he was actually somehow involved with her family. Or perhaps that he was actually a true master of the sword from an ancient family with swordsmanship practices.

And somehow... she didn’t feel all that surprised. In fact, that would better explain half of the things he had accomplished.

So Asuna nodded, fully confident that she would be able to accept anything that would’ve come out of Yuuji’s mouth.

"Alright."

She would find out soon enough that she truly wasn’t ready for anything.

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

"Nnghh..."

Asuna rustled under her blanket. Her hands moved about, in search of something, only to feel the softness of her bed.

It was then that her consciousness arose from its slumber, and immediately, she shielded her eyes from the morning light brightening up the entire room through the window wall.

"It’s morning...?"

Asuna rubbed her eyes as she slowly, groggily, sat up from her bed. Her hands rubbing her eyes, slowly adjusting to the brightness of day she didn’t know would appear so quickly.

She hadn’t slept much. Or at least, she didn’t feel like she had slept much. Although drowsiness wasn’t a part of the game’s programming, she felt quite drained mentally after everything that happened last night.

"I need water..."

She stood up from her bed and slowly shuffled her way out of her room and to the kitchen, her soft footsteps shuffling against the wooden floor.

"Ah, good morning, Asuna."

She was immediately wide awake upon hearing his voice and her eyes opened wide to see him in the kitchen, cooking breakfast.

"G-Good morning..."

Memories of the events yesterday immediately rushed into her mind like a tremendous flood, warming her cheeks as her heart began to drum in her chest.

When suddenly, she felt a pair of arms wrapping her into a warm embrace and a soft kiss planted on her head.

"Mmh..."

A muffled moan escaped her lips as she melted into his embrace, her face nuzzled to his chest as her arms wrapped around him in an attempt to pull him even closer than they already were.

"You woke up so late. I didn’t expect the "Flash" to be such a lazy bones."

He teased, and Asuna immediately looked up to him with a pout.

"T-That’s not my fault! It’s because of your ridiculous story that I can’t sleep!"

Asuna believed in Yuuji. No matter how ridiculous his story sounded, she could see no lies when she looked into his eyes.

But believing and actually being able to process what he told her was an entirely separate matter.

After all, how could she quickly process the fact that there are other worlds, and that her first ever boyfriend came from a different world?!

Not to mention... He’s an actual harem protagonist with a massive harem!

Seeing her pouting cutely at him, Yuuji couldn’t help but smile softly and kissed her forehead.

"Breakfast will be ready soon. You can go ahead and freshen up first."

The dining table had been set with plates and eating utensils, as well as glasses of water and orange juice, two of each for the both of them. Yuuji simply had to finish up the pancakes, scrambled eggs, and toast for their breakfast.

"After breakfast, let’s go on a date."

Asuna’s eyes immediately lit up, her pouting lips turning instantly into an expectant smile.

"Let’s go! Where are we going?"

"Let’s walk around and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of this floor. We can relax, and if you want, also talk about the things I told you yesterday. I’ll ask Ai to help us prevent any other player from listening in."

There were still a ton of questions she wanted to ask him, and walking around to enjoy the beautiful sights of this floor might also help her relax and think more clearly. So Asuna nodded and agreed readily.

"Alright."

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AN: I hope you guys enjoy this Chapter~! Please comment your thoughts~! I would love to hear what you think about it~!!!!

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